A Twisted Anthology: A Twisted Design Book

The Rogue's Initiation Part 2

“Which one?” I asked Ted.

“Ed Rice.” He answered.

“What makes you think the deputy’s a werewolf, Lex?” I asked.

“He showed up about a year ago and so did that brown wolf. The one who killed that coyote in my yard a few months ago. You’ve all seen him. That big ass wolf. You have to have seen him, Vaughn. You live out in the woods.” Lex insisted.

“Sure I have, but it wasn’t much bigger than a normal wolf. I think it’s your fear getting the better of you. A natural wolf will defend its territory from other predators. He was probably just killing the coyote because it was in his territory.”

It was me. A year ago was just the first time he saw me. When I started getting to know people in town, I began hearing about problems with things like wildcats, coyotes, and wolves. I wasn’t hunting a lot, but I worried the food I was killing was driving them closer to town. I didn’t want any humans to get hurt.

So, I marked the area around the town as mine. It made a few change their minds, but some were too enticed by the draw of rabbit hutches, sheep pens, and chicken coops. I’d taken to patrolling my territory at night and marking everything again, so the scent was fresh.

A few humans saw me defending my territory. Some were aggressive and shot at me. Most of them realized what I was doing and left me to my business. Some kids would leave me food. I didn’t like that, it would only draw more things I had to fight or kill.

Having another werewolf to patrol and defend the area would be great, but the deputy was not a werewolf. I met him shortly after he moved. Like me, he lived outside of town, just not as far out and on the other side.

Deputy Rice was definitely human. That wasn’t what concerned me most about what Lex was saying. This was the first I’d heard of anyone thinking the wolf around town was a werewolf. If he riled people, it could be dangerous for me.

“I’m not an i***t, Vaughn. That was a werewolf. He was almost twice the size of the coyote.” Lex continued.

That wasn’t true. I wasn’t that big at all. His fear really had made him imagine things. An Alpha werewolf would be almost twice the size of a coyote. I was bigger than a coyote or a natural wolf, but I wasn’t the same sort of beast that an Alpha could turn into.

“What’s the point of this, Lex? If he is a werewolf, then he’s doing his job as deputy in his wolf form. Seems to me that there’s nothing to worry about.” I laughed.

“That’s true, Lex. A werewolf is even better than a guard dog. They’re as smart as humans and they know who not to attack. If the deputy is a werewolf, it doesn’t matter.” Kelly chided.

“What if he decides to wolf out and go after kids or something?” He pressed.

“Why would he do that? He’s in law enforcement. To protect and serve, remember? Plus, you’re assuming humans taste good. We don’t. That’s why most things don’t like to eat us.” I told him with a scoff.

“You’re defending him an awful lot….”

“Because I’m a werewolf, too?” I laughed. “I think I’d prefer that to you guys calling me a virgin all the time.”

“A virgin werewolf. Sad times when even the monster fuckers won’t f**k you.” Ted muttered, shaking his head.

“And with that, I’m heading out. I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ll be back in a few days. Unless the vampires eat me.” I snorted, pulling some bills from my wallet and throwing them on the bar before heading out.

“Watch out for fairies and witches!” Carl yelled.

“He is a fairy!” Glen guffawed. “A virgin fairy werewolf!”

  That had not gone as well as it could have, but it didn’t exactly go as badly as it could have, either. Now I was the virgin fairy werewolf. It was better to let them to make a joke of it than to fight it. Lex wasn’t going to let it go, but this would keep him from getting any backup.

When I got home, I put my keys on the hook by the door and opened up my email. My agent wanted to know how my writing was going. She was always checking in on me. The first time we met, she ended up hitting on me after a few glasses of wine. Ever since I turned her down, she only contacted me by email.

I responded to her message, then turned off my computer. There was a feeling of melancholy and despair. I didn’t want to die. Maybe I should just accept it. If this King or Queen was reasonable, and not a power hungry asshole, then I’d join if it saved my life.

After doing my nightly patrol, I went to bed. I hoped everything would be okay while I was gone. It really wouldn’t help if people realized the big wolf disappeared for the same amount of time I did.

-

The next day, I spent most of the morning making sure my house was locked up, throwing out anything that would go bad while I was away, taking the trash out to where the garbage truck could collect it, and packing my things. I made sure my electronics were turned off and unplugged. I didn’t want anything drawing power that didn’t need it. No reason to overpay for utilities.

I locked my front door and headed to my truck. After tossing my bag in the cab, I got in and pulled around to drive off my property. I took a deep breath and focused on what way the pull of the rogue Alpha was leading me. Turning in the right direction, I started my journey.

And it was definitely a journey. I was surprised at how long I ended up driving. This person had a huge territory, compared to most rogue Alphas. They weren’t usually ambitious enough for this large a territory.

It was a few hours’ drive ‘til I reached a city where I felt I was close. I pulled over and checked my phone for nearby motels or hotels. Heading to the one nearest me, I worried about what to expect.

Sometimes, collectives wouldn’t let non-members stay in hotels and stuff. I hoped that wasn’t the case because of how large this territory was. It seemed to take a huge chunk out of central Oregon. I didn’t know how far east and west it went, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it went all the way into the surrounding states.

I pulled into the parking lot of a small motel. It looked pretty full. The sign said there was a vacancy. If it was right, I hoped I would be able to snag one of the last rooms.

Once I was in the office, I rang the bell on the counter and waited for the clerk. It didn’t take long before an older man rambled out of the back. If he were human, I’d guess him in his sixties, but the scent of rogue wolf hung in the air. He was probably closer to eighty. His nametag said ‘Wayne’.

“Welcome, pup. You needing a room?” He asked.

“Yes, sir. I also need to know where to find the leader of the Eaten Heart Collective.” I replied.

“Ah, Queen Bellamy. Sweet little thing. Best Queen I’ve ever met. You here to challenge her? I’ll have to request your whole p*****t in advance. Can’t get money from a dead man.” He chuckled.

“No, I’m here to talk with her and see if I can negotiate with her. She just expanded her territory to cover my home, but I don’t know anything about her or her collective. I needed to know if I should stay or move.”

“If this were a normal collective, I’d say move. More resources for the rest of us, but Queen Bellamy’s territory is huge. We don’t need what little you have. That being said, you should talk to her. I love this collective. I lived here before Queen Bellamy came a year ago. The werewolf mayor was trying to take on the role of collective leader and he did okay, but my wolf hated it and there were issues he couldn’t resolve using his power under human law. Things only a King or Queen could fix. Then she came and changed everything.”

“Sounds like you admire her.” I said.

“If I were a younger man, and she wasn’t already claimed, I would’ve offered for her. She’s beautiful, kind, and deadly. The kind of woman every rogue wants in his life.” He grinned.

“Do you know where I can find her or how I can make an appointment to see her?” I asked.

“Hmm…. I think she’s at the fairgrounds today, but she might be up at Lune Rouge. She’s pregnant and already has a couple pups, so you never really know if she’s about or at home. I’ll call Reverend Blood.”

He turned to the phone before I could stop him and started dialing. I waited. She was pregnant. That was good. Females were sometimes softer when they were pregnant. As long as I didn’t present myself as a threat, she wouldn’t feel the need to kill me.

“Lance, it’s Wayne. There’s a rogue born here wanting to meet with Queen Bellamy. Yeah…. You know I don’t like talking to her assistant. I’m an old man and she gets my heart rate up.” He chuckled. “Sure. I can wait….”

I studied the things on the counter and hanging on the wall. There were a lot of family photos, kids’ drawings, things like that. The counter had painted rocks arranged on it. Probably more gifts from the kids.

“I’m still here…. Yeah…. I’ll let him know. Thanks, Lance. See you later.” Wayne said and hung up.

Straightening myself up, I looked at him as he turned to me. His smile was warm, not malicious. He probably wasn’t planning to send me to my death.

“Queen Bellamy is busy right now, but she’ll meet you at the fairgrounds at nine. She wants you to wait by the main entrance gate. She said don’t wear red.”

“Why shouldn’t I wear red?” I asked.

“It’s the last night of the Rogue’s Fair. Pretty much everyone in the collective is wearing red when they go. It’ll make you stand out if you don’t.” He answered.

“Rogue’s Fair?”

“Yeah. Queen Bellamy’s territory grew so much that she can’t do picnics anymore, so she’s doing a three-day fair that’ll travel around. Admission’s free for members. They just have to pay for tickets for rides and games. The collective covers food. In the evening, it goes from being a family thing to being adults only, including some speed dating thing and a gathering for single pack wolves and ex-packs. Tonight’s the one everyone’s been looking forward to. My grandson’s going to be there. Maybe the pup will finally settle down.” Wayne grinned as he started typing something on the computer. “Need your ID and your credit card.”

Pulling out my wallet, I got my cards for him and handed them over. He looked at them carefully and slowly typed in the information he needed. When he was done, he handed them back and pulled out a key.

“This is for the room at the top of the stairs on the second level. The one in the corner over there.” He pointed out the window. “Room 221.”

“Got it.” I replied, accepting the key.

“Be a good pup and I won’t have to set my grandsons on you. They’re some of Queen Bellamy’s best warriors. Especially the youngest, Roan.”

“I won’t make trouble for anyone. I just want to get this settled and go home.” I promised him.

“Good. Stay as long as you need. I expect a lot of people will be checking out tomorrow.”

I nodded briefly and left. This was a weird place. Grabbing my bag from the cab of my truck, I locked the doors and headed up to my room. With luck, this would all go smoothly.